Queens Owners Settle $1M Discrimination Case

Former owners of a rental building in Far Rockaway have agreed to pay $1 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing them of discriminating against people who had been incarcerated. The lawsuit claimed that the owner refused to rent apartments to applicants who had served time in prison. The case originated back in 2014 when a social service provider accused the owners in Brooklyn federal court of violating the Fair Housing Act by automatically refusing to rent to someone with a criminal record.